The FA is launching Phase 3 of its national initiative “Heart Safe Clubs” to provide life-saving defibrillators to all grassroots football clubs in England from 1st July 2019.

The scheme was first launched in 2017 and Phases 1 & 2 have proved so successful that the FA is now launching Phase 3 with WEL Medical, its strategic supply partner. WEL Medical specializes in life-saving devices and is supplying the FA with the iPAD SP1 defibrillator, a nominated device of the British Heart Foundation.

Clubs can now purchase life-saving iPAD SP1 defibrillators for the special price of £695+VAT (usual cost £1325+VAT). The IPAD SP1 is a nominated unit of the British Heart Foundation and is deployed by the NHS Ambulance service.

The iPAD SP1 defibrillator is portable, it weighs just 2.4kg (including the battery pack and pads) and comes in a robust, high visibility carry case.

Research shows that over 90% of sudden cardiac arrests in young athletes happen either during or immediately after exercise. There are around 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests in England every year and for every minute lost without CPR and defibrillation, a person’s chance of survival decreases by around 10 percent.

A cardiac arrest is when a person’s heart stops pumping blood around their body and to their brain. It causes the person to fall unconscious and stop breathing. A defibrillator is an automatic device that can be used to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm during cardiac arrest. By performing CPR and using a defibrillator until an ambulance arrives, you can help double the person’s chance of survival.